Desirable 5-speed manual transmissionSold new through Kjell Quale in San FranciscoOffered with extensive history file containing many factory recordsOne of just 155 Khamsin's delivered to the US-market

THE MASERATI KHAMSIN

The last Maserati developed under Citroen's and Giulio Alfieri's aegis, the Khamsin, introduced at the 1972 Turin show, was named after an Egyptian desert wind. It was very much a major evolution of the iconic but conceptually dated Ghibli.

Fitted with a 4.9-liter four cam alloy dry sump V8 with 352ft/lbs of torque, 320hp and 275kmh performance with for the first time on a front engine Maserati four-wheel independent suspension, it was in fact a front mid-engine Berlinetta with perfect weight distribution. Its alluring very unique body with tremendous gravitas was the first production model designed by Bertone with the hand of Marcello Gandini a design he started from the basis of the Lamborghini Urraco along with the alluring vertical glass back end he had penned on the Lamborghini Espada. The result had immense class as much as it had outstanding charisma behind the wheel. Driving one is an event. Crucially it also had incredible ease of use thanks to Citroen's hydraulically assisted steering, brakes and clutch which meant that the frailest of drivers could drive it easily all day long in the worst traffic jams, contrary to the very heavy controls then endemic in GT cars. Jay Leno was very impressed during his online test drive. These brakes were extraordinarily powerful and fade free even on a racetrack in sharp contrast to what was typical at the time. The quintessential grande routiere to cruise with regal ease from London to Monaco or New York to Palm Beach it was set for major success, in fact Dolce Vita actor Marcello Mastroianni offered one to silver screen Goddess Catherine Deneuve. Like an obscure under-appreciated fine wine, the Khamsin was long a forgotten car but is now sought by an ever-wider caste of connoisseurs. Reflecting its market value has gone up ten-fold in the last 25 years.

The Motorcar Offered

Finished on February 6, 1978 in Maserati's Modena factory, the 5-speed manual Khamsin offered here was painted in the rare shade of Tabacco with Cinghiale (wild boar) interior.

It was shipped to San Francisco, California where dealer Kjell Qvale sold it new to client Jim Liston. He drove it home to the exclusive enclave of Incline Village, Nevada where he kept it until 1989. He then sold it to another Reno resident with a mere 15,000 miles on the clock. The new owner was Sam Dibitonto a well know Maserati expert who wrote numerous authoritative articles in the eighties and nineties. The car remained his property for 24 years when he sold it with 21,000 miles. Having lived three decades in the dry desert air it was perfectly preserved and pampered.

It was bought December 10, 2013 by the current owner who had a complete and very painstaking bare metal repaint done in the Los Angeles area in fact it took several years and was finished this spring. During that process, it received a European bumper conversion away from the hideous US version. It has just been serviced by a top southern California workshop familiar with Khamsins.

There are a variety of records from the Liston era whereas Dibitonto, a WWII military mechanic with considerable expertise did all his own work. He studiously made notes of his work in the owner's manual.The car's file include copies of many factory records, including the Certificate of Origin, the Technical and Aesthetic sheet, the Final Test Data Sheet, the End of Line Data Sheet, the Delivery Note, and the Original Maserati window sticker for British Motor Car Dis Ltd of San Francisco.

Exceptionally low in mileage at 23,332 yet never neglected and with a very well preserved interior it is a true find in appealing period colors, 1224 is not to be missed as there are almost none left in the USA. Indeed, of the 155 Khamsins sold new in North America, 100 were 5 speed. Of these less than 30 remain in the US as the rest have mostly been shipped to Europe where they have always been better appreciated thans to the lack of US bumpers. This along with the other Khamsin in this auction, represents a now dwindling opportunity to buy a proper 5 speed Khamsin looking the way Maserati, Giulio Alfieri, Bertone and Marcello Gandini meant it to look, as the ultimate most accomplished front engine GT of the 1970's.

Saleroom notices

Please note, that this car is equipped with carburetors as is factory correct, and not fuel injection as stated in the catalog. Also note, this vehicle is titled under model year 1977 with its correct chassis no. AM120US1224 and engine no. AM115/07/49 1224.

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